The clean energy sector may get a boost after President-elect Donald Trump told the NYT he thinks "there is some connectivity" between humans and climate change, stating he was keeping an "open mind" on whether to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Meanwhile, Ben Carson has been offered the post of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The former Republican presidential candidate said he'll consider the offer over Thanksgiving.

The 2015 Paris Agreement negotiated by more than 200 countries to cap emissions and curb the global rise in temperatures will go into force on Nov. 4 after the pact reached the threshold necessary to formally take effect.

The treaty doesn't legally require countries to curb emissions or take other steps on climate change, but it does require countries to release their targets and report emissions.

JPM strategists note that earnings expectations have been managed aggressively going into earnings season. Four months ago, the "hurdle rate" for S&P 500 stocks was +5% Y/Y; now it's -4% Y/Y. “If this were to materialize, it would be the weakest quarter for EPS delivery so far in the upcycle.”

The California Air Resources Board is expected to vote today on the clean fuel standard, which has survived a long legal challenge from fuel makers, particularly out-of-state refiners and ethanol companies who argued that transporting the fuels into California alone made them less competitive against in-state producers.

Oil producers say the standard will cost consumers much more in a state that already has some of the highest gas prices in the U.S. as the companies try to comply with the mandate or face being shut out of the market; supporters say the program will encourage greater use of cleaner biofuels and electric vehicles.

President Obama will unveil the final version of his plan to tackle greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants on Monday, in what he calls the nation's most important step to combat climate change.

The revised Clean Power Plan will seek to slash carbon emissions from the power sector 32% from 2005 levels in 2030, and will require each state to submit a plan next year that spells out how it will meet the goal assigned to it.

For years deep-value investor Richard Pzena (PZN-0.6%) has been preaching of the opportunities in financial services and mature tech, and now he's adding energy to that list.

Not ready to hit the "buy" button yet (though he does own and is comfortable with positions in major integrated oils), Pzena and crew are spending their time digging deep into companies to understand the nuances of their business models and financial strength.

"Our investment team is working overtime researching the full range of companies in the industry including the major integrateds, exploration and production companies, servicers and drillers. We believe we have time on our side as our long-term view of oil prices of $60 to $80 per barrel is not out of line with consensus."

Energy stocks severely underperform the broader market, with the sector -4.2% vs. the S&P 500's -1.4%, as U.S. oil prices briefly slip below $50/bbl for the first time since April 2009; Nymex crude recently was -4.4% at $50.37, while Brent crude -5.9% at $53.08.

Ethanol futures plunged 28% in September as falling domestic demand left U.S. producers with the largest inventories since March 2013, sending stock prices for some ethanol makers reeling recently following big gains earlier in the year; shares of Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE), one of the biggest U.S. producers, slid 16% in September, while Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:PEIX) plunged 40%.

Ethanol prices have fallen for much of this year because the price of corn plummeted due to a record crop last year and expectations for an even larger one this year; industry margins fell to ~$0.22/gal. in late September, down from an all-time high of $2.04/gal. in April, but "ethanol margins have largely bottomed out for the short term and will likely rebound in the next three to six months due to exports," says Citi analyst Aakash Doshi.

Producers are cutting output, with U.S. ethanol production falling to a six-month low of 881K bbl/day in the week ended Sept. 26 EIA says; transportation snags this winter also could send prices climbing again.

President Barack Obama urged countries to follow the U.S.'s lead on combating global warming at yesterday's U.N. Climate Summit.

While leaders were united on laying the groundwork for a new global climate-change treaty, sharp differences arose on matters such as deforestation, carbon pollution and methane leaks from oil and gas production.

The U.S. also decided not to join 73 countries in supporting a price on carbon, which Congress previously indicated it would reject.

Climate change is having a present-day, negative impact on Americans' everyday lives and is damaging the U.S. economy, and calls on governments to find ways to lower emissions, particularly from energy production, according to a new National Climate Assessment report.

But you can't expect people to willingly reduce their standard of living, so even as the U.S. turns away from coal, there are ready markets for America’s coal across the globe.

Coal is so cheap that it is likely for many years to be the cornerstone for many nations’ energy policies: U.S. coal offers much of Europe a less expensive alternative than coal from nearby mines even including transportation costs, Japan looks to spend billions of dollars on new coal-fired plants, while coal is likely to be the fuel of China into the foreseeable future.